Rock climbing

Rock climbing

Climbing is an adventurous and extremely demanding sports activity. It demands a lot of physical skills such as endurance, agility and coordination of the body parts along with great mental control. Rock climbing in Greece requires a lot of training in climbing techniques and usage of climbing equipment. A lot of rock climbing clubs offer both equipement and courses.

There are many rock climbing spots in the Greek mainland and the islands. As the country has many mountains and gorges, it provides fantastic places for climbing. The mecca for Rock Climbing in Greece is the island of Kalymnos, Dodecanese. With huge limestone rock escarpments on the western side, Kalymnos has developed over the last years as a very popular Greece rock climbing destination. Many climbing clubs have opened there that organize climbing excursions in Kalymnos and the neighboring island of Telendos. More particularly, Kalymnos has more than 2,000 established climbing routes, although still many rocks are unexplored. This means that climbs are pre-equipped with permanent drilled-in bolts, making these routes very safe.

Even a climbing festival is organized on the island every October, attracting many climbers from all over the world. Another very popular destination for rock climbing in Greece is Meteora, located on the northern side of the Greek mainland. Meteora is actually a place with huge massive rocks on one side of a large valley. Climbing routes in Meteora are pre-established and do not include all rocks. As monasteries were built several centuries ago on top of some rocks, this place is considered a holy monastic community that should not be disturbed. This is why climbers are restricted to a designated area. Climbing and hiking trail festivals frequently take place there in autumn. Other spots for rock climbing in Greece are Zagoria in north western Greece, Karpenissi in central Greece and the island of Crete. Especially Crete has many gorges and canyons from one side of the island to the other, providing innumerable spots to practise this sports.